The Cudgel

Overview

The Cudgel is Odrun Fell’s delving and security force. Its work covers tunnel patrols, caravan escorts, gate control, riot prevention, breach response, and emergency evacuation. The Cudgel’s first duty is to keep routes open and deaths low. The second duty is to prevent panic and crime from turning an incident into a disaster. The Cudgel does not make law. It applies Council policy and follows written protocols that are posted in the Hilt and shared with other guilds. When new threats arise, the Cudgel records what happened, updates procedures, and trains to the change.

Captain Orin Vellak is the current commander. He directs operations, approves high-risk delves, sets readiness levels, and signs route closures. He is not a member of the Guild Council and holds no vote. He advises the Council when decisions will affect public safety or tunnel stability. He accepts accountability for field failures that occur under policy and proper reporting. He shields officers from political blame when they acted within orders and logs.

Command and Sites

Emberhook Hall (The Hilt). Headquarters, muster yard, mission boards, and the Wall of Names for the fallen. Briefings occur at dawn and dusk. Patrols check in and out here. The incident desk accepts reports at all hours.
Gate Posts. Permanent stations at the major clubbone gates and the Gate of Tines. These posts handle inspections, crowd control, and first response to breaches.
Caravan Yards. Staging for trade escorts and relief convoys. Equipment lockers store spare plates, line kits, and antidotes.
Detention Rooms. Small, austere holding cells used for short-term custody until a case moves to the Span or resolves with fines.
Training Runs. Marked loops in the upper tunnels where recruits drill movement, signaling, casualty carry, and retreat routes under simulated grit and heat.

Orin begins each day in Emberhook Hall. He reviews the boards, checks return times, and flags overdue crews. He alone engraves new names on the Wall. Silence is enforced during that act. He balances hunts, escorts, and maintenance runs so that casualty risk stays within seasonal targets.

Readiness Levels

Routine. Standard patrols and escorts. Training runs open. Limited hunts allowed.
Heightened. Non-essential hunts paused. Escort sizes increased. Extra checks at gates.
Lockdown. Designated routes closed. Patrols shift to guards and barricades. Threadspire updates required before reopening.

Triggers include recent breach counts, swarm sightings, spore activity, missing-crew intervals, and Threadspire risk advisories. Orin signs any escalation and posts the notice across districts.

Duties in the Greatclub

The Cudgel divides coverage into three zones:

Handle Access and Hilt Adjacency. These are the upper routes that support daily city work. Patrols scan for new cracks, fallen plates, and signs of nest spread. Hazards are flagged for Ashcoat repair crews.
Mid-Depth Hauls. These are the caravan arteries. Escorts carry heat lures, line anchors, and ward tags. They treat choke points as ambush zones and mark new bypasses for Threadspire logs.
Perimeter at Odrun’s Head. The Cudgel enforces the sealed border. Posts follow strict relief, quarantine on rotation, and gear fumigation. Any sign of coordinated insect behavior, spore fog, or unusual residue triggers an alert, a count, and a station audit.

Crisis Protocols

Infestation. Secure gates. Establish firebreaks if needed. Evacuate non-combatants along posted corridors. Use approved pheromones and heat lures to split swarms. Record species, numbers, and behavior for Barley and Ashcoat follow-ups.
Tunnel Collapse. Prioritize air and water. Cordon both sides. Ban private rescues. Sweep for secondary failure. Bring in Ashcoat engineers under Cudgel guard.
Toxic or Spore Event. Seal helmets and masks. Close air feeds to the affected span. Mark contamination lines. Rotate teams under time limits. Quarantine exposed crews on return.
Market Riot. Remove agitators, keep thoroughfares open for healers and haulers, and avoid mass arrests that cause stampedes.
Political Raid Requests. Decline actions that lack a clear warrant or that would damage district function without strong cause. Orin accepts censure rather than create preventable harm.

After any crisis, the Cudgel files an After-Action Report within two days, with route maps, timings, casualties, and equipment notes. Threadspire receives copies of route updates and hazard shifts.

Personnel and Training

Recruitment. Most recruits come from the Barrows and the Hilt, with others from caravan guards and retired delvers. Background checks verify no outstanding fines or unresolved violent charges.
Training. Eight weeks of drills. Topics include route movement, anchor work, wall and ceiling checks, swarm split and retreat, antidote use, casualty carry, and map reading. Final test requires leading a four-person team through a timed obstruction course with simulated breach noise and grit.
Rotation. Crews rotate between tunnel patrols, caravan duty, and neighborhood watches to limit burnout. Veterans mentor recruits. Retired delvers assist at training runs and at The Dome.
Standards. No falsified reports. No off-route chases without command approval. No unauthorized use of heat lures near Barley pens. Violations trigger suspension or removal.
Care. Each patrol carries water, rations, spare seals, and antidote kits. Officers record antidote usage and report shortages by shift end.

Equipment

The Cudgel uses Ashcoat gear with posted revision codes:

Armor. Modular chitin-steel plates with quick-swap gaskets for wet and grit conditions.
Shields. Ribbed, edged shields with replaceable caps and a central sight slot.
Weapons. Short spears, axes, hammers, hook-knives, and line-launchers for anchors.
Tools. Heat lures, ward tags, brace jacks, lantern cages, and anchor sets.
Kits. Repair rolls with pins, rivets, resin cartridges, gasket rings, and torque keys.
Marks. Lot and revision stamps logged to the patrol manifest for traceability.

Faults are logged on return. Unsafe items are tagged and sent to Ashcoats for recall. Orin rejects any pattern that cannot be repaired in the field.

Doctrine

The Cudgel’s doctrine is simple:

Hold the gates. Gate integrity and crowd order prevent city-wide failures.
Keep routes open. Caravans, repairs, and evacuations require predictable corridors.
Minimize deaths. A saved crew preserves skill and lowers panic.

Supporting rules include clear signaling, strict adherence to retreat paths, and quick reporting to Threadspire. Commanders favor withdrawal over pursuit when bystanders are at risk.

District Ties

The Hilt. Staging, training, and musters. Orin signs high-risk delves and mission boards here.
The Barrows. Base of public support. The Cudgel runs safety talks at The Reach, deploys neighborhood watches, and staffs The Dome.
The Spindle. Escorts for caravans and posted patrols around the Bentroot Exchange. Orin limits force to reduce market shocks.
The Sprigs. Plain-clothes details handle sensitive buys and antidote transfers. Officers move through private lanes only with posted writs.

The Dome

The Dome in the Barrows is a shelter funded and maintained by Orin and volunteer officers. It provides cots, food, and basic care without payment. Retired delvers serve as orderlies and trainers. The Dome absorbs families during crises and offers classes on safe-work practices. When supplies run short, Orin directs lawful surplus and personal donations to cover gaps.

Relationships with the Guilds

Barleys. The Cudgel guards cultivation sites and transport for high-risk cargo. Orin requires current hazard maps, evacuation routes, and scent protocols before deployment near pens. He bans heat lures within posted distances unless approved by a Barley foreman on site.
Ashcoats. The Cudgel field-tests new patterns and returns faulty lots without negotiation. Orin shares failure data, casualty links, and route conditions to improve future runs.
Promissory. The Cudgel provides escorts for legitimate caravans and bonded stores. Orin limits crackdowns on low-level smuggling that would endanger bystanders or markets. He forwards evidence of organized violence to the Promissory and then to the Span.
Regent and Council. Orin provides weekly safety summaries to the Regent’s office: open routes, closures, casualties, and major arrests. He testifies in Council when public safety is at stake. He avoids speeches not tied to field data.

Law, Custody, and the Span

The Cudgel detains suspects and preserves evidence. It does not judge guilt. Cases pass to the Span courts with reports, witness lists, seals, and times. Fines and bans come from the Span, not the Cudgel. Officers who abuse custody rules face removal and charges. Seized goods are recorded and transferred to bonded stores or to the Promissory. Loss of evidence triggers audits and discipline.

Funding and Assets

The Cudgel receives a city stipend approved by Council, hazard fees from Promissory contracts, and designated gifts that pass audit. Funds pay for armor refits, antidotes, carts, barracks upkeep, and funerary grants. Orin refuses gifts that bind patrol routes or close reports. Auditors inspect Cudgel books each season.

Working with the Cudgel

Crews should bring clear manifests, clean kits, and route plans. Follow posted signals. File route notes with the Threadspire. Report faults on return. Do not pursue off-route targets without approval. If the Cudgel declares Heightened or Lockdown, obey closures and wait for new advisories. If you are stopped, present permits, answer briefly, and move on. The Cudgel’s goal is simple: hold the gates, keep routes open, and bring people home.